Just as the millennials are a diverse group, so are the types of boomerang kids who return home to live with mom and dad. There are the kids who boomerang home to live with a purpose and those who return home to become "perma-children."

When she turns to scan the crowd, I wonder if she has plans after dinner tonight. I wonder if she has plans for tomorrow, or next week. I wonder if she is happy or scared, or both. I wonder if she is looking for me.

My friend leans forward, gripping her latte with both hands. "He looked so peaceful, lying there on the couch with an afghan bunched under his head," she said. "I could hear him snoring slightly -- just like he did when he was a baby. Sound asleep. And you know what? I just wanted to smack him on the head and scream 'Get up! Get up! Get your lazy ass up and do something!'"

Baby boomers have been enabling their kids' extended adolescence for over two decades, spurred on by their desire to have a more honest, authentic, intimate connection with their children than most of them enjoyed with their own parents.

The beauty of the boomerang is that after sending it off, it comes right back to its original destination. In the case of parents sending their children to college -- or the workforce -- and having them return home, the effect might not have the same "beauty."

Most parents are more than willing to make sacrifices for their children, and will make accommodations for them when they are in need. However, when young adults return home, it shouldn't be to experience a second childhood.